World-renowned publisher relocates to Sheffield because of 'innovative spirit' of city

Lee Peace

A world-renowned publisher has relocated from London to Sheffield as they were attracted by the city's 'innovative spirit'.

Prestigious publishing house And Other Stories, whose books have been awarded and shortlisted for many prizes, including the Man Booker for Deborah Levy’s 2012 Swimming Home, now calls the Steel City home.

And to mark the relocation it is launching the Northern Book Prize for unpublished fiction at Sheffield's Off The Shelf literary festival in October.

Stefan Tobler, founder of And Other Stories, said: “The event will also be a great party, to say thank you to the literary and cultural community across the North for welcoming us with open arms.

"The independent, innovative spirit of Sheffield is part of what attracted us here, and we want to celebrate our move.

"The city has such a rich cultural heritage, and there is an enormous amount happening in the arts - in the theatres, the music scene, in fine arts and poetry.

"We hope to complement this with own unique approach to publishing fiction.”

Tara Tobler, editor at And Other Stories, added: "London is lovely but it isn’t a heal-all. It’s not necessary to be there.

"The UK publishing industry faces problems - a failure to diversify its authors and staff not least among them - but as soon as one looks beyond a certain one and half square kilometres of southeastern territory, one immediately perceives a great feeling of groundswell, of talent and momentum building in the regions, of skilled and enthusiastic writers and publishing professionals keen to forge solutions closer to the homes they’re passionate about.

“Hence the launch of the Northern Book Prize here in Sheffield, where we’re now proudly resident. We hope to tap some of the extraordinary literary energy in the North and are confident the prize will only grow in prestige and popularity in the years to come."

The Northern Book Prize will form part of New Writing North’s Northern Writers’ Awards, which have supported hundreds of writers to develop creatively and connect with the writing industry since 2000.

The awards are open to writers based in the North of England from November 16 and closes on February 1 next year. The winning writer will be revealed at the Northern Writers’ Awards ceremony, to be held in Newcastle in June 2018.

The Northern Book Prize launch will be held immediately following an event with And Other Stories author Joanna Walsh in conversation about her new short story collection Worlds From The Word’s End.

It will be held at DINA in Cambridge Street at 7.30pm on October 19. There will also be the opportunity to win a six-book subscription to And Other Stories titles at the event.